Gavin Newsom Issues A Stay-At-Home Order For California

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 27: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference at the California Department of Public Health on February 27, 2020 in Sacramento, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom joined State health officials to an update to the public about the state's response to the Coronavirus known as COVID-19 a day after a possible first case of person-to-person transmission was reported in Northern California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California governor Gavin Newsom is taking a bold move, ordering the state’s 40 million residents to stay at home. The order states:

The California State Public Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health is ordering all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operation of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.

Newsom remarked:

“This is a moment we need to make tough decisions. This is a moment where we need some straight talk and we need to tell people the truth: We need to bend the curve in the state of California.”

“Home isolation is not my preferred choice, I know it is not yours, but it is a necessary one,”

The Los Angeles order, which will stay in effect until at least April 19, requires all businesses, including museums, malls, retail stores, and workplaces, to stop operations and only allows people to leave their home for “essential activities,” like to pick up food, go to the doctor, or take a walk in the neighborhood. It will take effect midnight Thursday, though businesses will have an additional day to prepare to close.